SBY supporters told to keep off the grass

Agnes Winarti ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 07/01/2009 9:10 PM  |  Sports

The management of Gelora Bung Karno Stadium has requested that supporters of incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his running mate Boediono to keep themselves off the soccer pitch during the pair’s rally on Saturday.

Otherwise it will spoil a friendly game at the stadium between English champions Manchester United and the Indonesian All Stars, scheduled for July 20. 

“We hope the SBY campaign team remind their supporters not to step on the soccer field,” stadium director Bambang Mudiarso told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The rally is set to gather some 80,000 people in the 100,000-seat stadium.
 
Signs stating that the green turf is off-limits are already in place.

The soccer field was left unharmed when around 50,000 people turned up for a rally featuring presidential candidate Megawati Sukarnoputri and her running mate Prabowo Subianto, on Tuesday.

“It was a good thing that the campaign team managed to organize their supporters to fill only the tribune and running track,” Bambang said.
 
The grass of the soccer field was damaged after a number of rallies organized by political parties contesting the April 9 legislative elections, Bambang said. “The grass is currently being restored,” he said.
  
Presidential candidate Jusuf Kalla and his running mate Wiranto have cancelled their rally at the stadium, that was originally scheduled for Thursday. 
 
The friendly match pitting German giant Bayern Munchen against the national team at the stadium last year brought shame on the host due to the poor state of the pitch. The stadium had hosted a mass gathering to commemorate National Awakening Day only a day before the international match.

“However, even if the grass is damaged after the upcoming campaign rally, we would still have two weeks to repair the pitch before the MU match,” Bambang said.

A rally organizer has been charged Rp 140 million in rental fees for the stadium, excluding a deposit of Rp 150 million to guarantee against any damage caused to the stadium.

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